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Team BMC Racing Starts the Giro d'Italia 2011 Without a Leader

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Team BMC Racing Starts the Giro d'Italia 2011 Without a Leader

Though the Team BMC Racing roster for the Giro d'Italia 2011 does not feature a team leader ready to fight for a high spot in the overall Giro classification, the team reports that its riders are motivated to fight for stage wins in the first Grand Tour of the 2011 season beginning this coming Saturday.

Though the Team BMC Racing roster for the Giro d'Italia 2011 does not feature a team leader ready to fight for a high spot in the overall Giro classification, the team reports that its riders are motivated to fight for stage wins in the first Grand Tour of the 2011 season beginning this coming Saturday. Video highlights from every stage of the 2011 Giro will be shown here on Roadcycling.com.

Team BMC Racing's former Italian world champion Alessandro Ballan has been suspended by the team and has, therefore, been removed from the Team BMC Racing roster for the Giro d'Italia 2011. Ballan was suspended because of his continued inclusion in a long-running doping probe in Italy.

According to Team BMC Racing assistant sports director Fabio Baldato the nine man line-up was constructed to enable the team to be competitive in each of the 21 Giro stages.

"I have confidence in Alexander Kristoff for the sprints, guys like Martin Kohler, Danilo Wyss and Simon Zahner in the breakaways, and climbers like Johann Tschopp and Mathias Frank," Baldato told Roadcycling.com and our mobile sister site Roadcycling.mobi. BMC's Tschopp soloed to win the Giro d'Italia's penultimate stage last year and finished third in the mountains classification.

Baldato also believes that the three American riders included in the team roster for the Giro will be able to perform well in the race. "Our three young Americans Chris Barton, Chad Beyer and Chris Butler, have a good opportunity in the Giro for them to show themselves and learn in a big race."

According to Team BMC Racing assistant sports director Max Sciandri morale is good within the team and he and Baldato will do their best to share their own knowledge of the race with the riders and the rest of the team staff.

"We're very committed, even if we don't have a GC contender, to doing the best we can do," Sciandri said. "Motivation will be a key ingredient because it's going to be a really hard Giro."

Both Baldato and Sciandri have won multiple stages in previous editions of the Giro d'Italia (Tour of Italy).